Mark Trumbo (BAL - 1B/OF) - Mark Trumbo hit his third home run of the young season last night. That's not that unusual given his power, but there is a LOT to like with Trumbo right now. His SwStr% is cut in half at 7.0% vs. 14.6% last year, and his contact% is at an absurd 87.5% -- 15% higher than his career! The sample size is small, but Trumbo looked pretty good via the eye test against the Sox last series. He was fouling off tough pitches before eventually getting one he was looking for. This could be a great year for Trumbo, or it could be a small sample.. but I really like what I'm seeing so far.
Rajai Davis (CLE - OF) - Davis did a little bit of everything yesterday, tallying 3 hits, a home run, two stolen bases, and a walk. Is this guy really 35? Looking at the rest of his numbers, the answer is yes. Davis makes for a nice DFS option when batting leadoff in good matchups, because as we saw here, he can do a little bit of everything. It's tough to recommend him beyond that unless you're desperate for steals. Those tend to come in bunches for him, which is a good sign for daily lineups.
Nick Castellanos (DET - 3B) - Castellanos put some runs on the board yesterday, driving in two RBI with a double off Gerrit Cole and adding a 2-run HR in the 8th. That makes 7 RBI through 8 games for the 24-year-old, a trend that we should see continuing with him batting 5th in a pretty stacked order (at least, 1 through 5). Castellanos had a lackluster 2015 with a wRC+ of 94, and while this isn't too bad for a 23-year-old, it doesn't help much for fantasy purposes. In deeper leagues, I'd take a flier on Castellanos. Why? Well even if he replicates last year's potential, he should end up with over 80 RBIs, which is nothing to sneeze at. To boot, he's a former first round pick that's only 24 years old, so his ceiling is still quite high. I don't think this is the year that he puts it all together necessarily, but rostering him is an acceptable risk in my opinion.
Jordan Zimmermann (DET - P) - Zimmermann has held batters scoreless through his first 13 innings in the American League, after going 6 innings with 4 K's yesterday. His 100% LOB isn't likely to remain there, particularly given the lack of strikeouts (7 for the season). Zimm got a monster deal this offseason, but some folks rightfully were worried about a move to the AL. So far the results are great, but there will be some serious regression coming. His xFIP is over 5 vs. a 0.00 ERA. (Insert caveat that it's very early.) I'm bearish towards Zimmermann this year given the move to the American League, a lackluster defense behind him, and a declining K rate. Sell high if that's at all possible.
Adam Eaton (CHW - OF) - Eaton collected another two hits yesterday, leaving him with a batting average of .394 to start the season. Owners obviously love what they've seen so far, but will Eaton keep up the strong production all season? The answer is - it depends. Unlike an AJ Pollock breakout a la 2015, Eaton lacks as much stolen base upside (18 last year) and hasn't hit for much power (14 HR). Any upside for him will come via batting average and runs, which is valuable, but certainly not the five tool skill set that makes you a top 15 player. So I'm happy with the results so far, but if you're afraid to deal him because you think he could be this year's breakout candidate, I wouldn't let that hold you back. Of course I could be kicking myself if he ends up with a .300 average and 25 HR, but his 60.9% GB rate and 0 HR so far give me a little comfort that that won't occur overnight.
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